‘Inside Ittihad’: From regional powerhouse to global household name

AUSTRALIA: The name Al-Ittihad is now known around the world as much as it is regionally, thanks largely to the arrival of Karim Benzema,.

The Ballon d’Or winner turbocharged recognition of the club’s name among football aficionados around the world; these days, the team’s kit can be found on the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Rome or Rabat.

It has given the club an incredible platform on which to grow its international profile. However, perhaps conscious of how some European clubs have chased international support at the expense of domestic, Al-Ittihad insist their primary focus is the local fan base, especially within the immediate Middle East and North Africa region.

“What we’re trying to do, as of today, is to really focus on the local market,” explained Turki Khorsheed, the club’s senior branding manager.

“We are local first. We are trying to really enhance the local experience here from every touch point we’ve got in the digital ecosystem. We’re working on a very exciting project, digital transformation, to really expand the brand and how you can interact with it for the local market.

“The fans really want more. They really want more events, opportunities, touch points. Everyone is proud of the business. They want to see a store at every corner. So we’re working on that infrastructure, and then also using the stars as vehicles to talk to the global market.”

That’s not to say the club is uninterested in expanding the global fanbase — it has a large following in Brazil, France, Indonesia, India and China — but doing so is more a by-product of the work the league is doing than a central focus.

“As of today, the global stage, or the global arena, is kind of a secondary goal for us as it’s happening,” Khorsheed told